Apple has cut the price of its iPhone 3G with 8Gbyte of
memory to $99, but the announcement came as no surprise after
intense speculation ahead of the firm's2009 annual developer
conference.
As also widely expected, Apple unveiled the iPhone 3GS, but
contrary to expectations, chief executive Steve Jobs was not
present for the launch.
Jobs, who is on a six-month medical leave of absence, was
expected to mark a return to duties at Apple with an appearance
at the show.
The iPhone 3GS is built for speed, said Apple, enabled by
hardware improvements that boost common functions such as the
rendering of graphics.
As expected, the 3GS has better battery life, with Apple
claiming it up to five hours of talk time and nine hours of Wi-Fi
internet browsing.
The iPhone 3GS can be controlled by voice and can give "verbal"
information about the music it is playing.
Apple has updated the camera to three megapixels from two
megapixels in earlier versions. The iPhone 3GS can also shoot video
at 30 frames per second.
The iPhone 3GS will be available in the UK and US from 19
June.
The iPhone 3GS will cost $199 for a 16Gbyte version and $299 for
a 32Gbyte version in the US, but no information has been given on
UK prices.